LPR

Bothasig & Edgemead LPR Project

What is this about?

The Edgemead Residents’ Association (ERA), Edgemead Neighbourhood Watch (EWN), Bothasig Neighbourhood Watch (BNW) and Bothasig Community Policing Forum (BCPF) have combined forces to initiate the installation of License Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras in our community. Because we share common access roads and fall under the Bothasig policing precinct it made sense to look at a more inclusive solution rather than having each individual neighbourhood run their own projects.

The objective is to create a community owned and maintained system to help aid our local police combat crime more efficiently and effectively. A foundation for implementation of a successful LPR system is good communication. We are already a long way towards implementing a central community radio to link the neighbourhood watches, which will also link them to SAPS.

We have met with Bothasig SAPS and City of Cape Town authorities, both of whom have given their support in implementing an LPR system. We have completed and submitted the application documents required by the City of Cape Town. We will also be welcoming private security companies who want to get involved in the community radio as well as the LPR project.

How does this system work?

We’ve been subjected to a number of crowbar style break-ins and more recently garage break-ins. The watches and SAPS have been working tirelessly to combat these activities but is more often than not reactive rather than proactive. These criminals all by and large enter our neighbourhoods in vehicles. LPR serves as an early warning system. When a flagged vehicle enters an area and picked up by the LPR camera alerts are dispatched to the watches, SAPS and private security companies with the aim of apprehending a suspect before a crime is committed.

How can you help?

A project of this nature requires a substantial amount of investment. The first phase of the project aims to cover the main access points into Edgemead and Bothasig. This requires 7 camera sites. A site costs approximately R60 000, depending on the camera configuration. There are also some additional once off costs for the central server to where the camera feeds are sent. The total budget for this phase is R700 000. Once the system is live there will also be some monthly costs to cover the connectivity to send the video feeds to the central server as well processed data to the control room. There is also maintenance required clean and align the cameras as needed.

We are able to install one site at a time as funds become available. We have engaged with Bothasig SAPS to determine the entry points to target first and will follow their lead on the order in which we install the first 7 sites.

We will be actively targeting business in our community for funding, but we also ask that residents donate as their means allow. The reality is that some will contribute more than others and some will choose not to contribute at all. We ask that in the spirit of community you look beyond your own situation and consider the positive impact this can have on your neighbourhood. Communities like Constantia Valley, who have successfully implemented LPR systems, have achieved great success in pushing crime out of their area. In turn the criminals, who we know prefer easy targets, have moved to areas who don’t make use of LPR.

Additional Information

If you would like further information you can view our current flyer. You are welcome to print out copies to share with your neighbours. We have also compiled a page to try and answer any Frequently Asked Questions you may have.